[GWSG] Stasis hurts; impaired govs; IEA on future; US solar exports; USGBC at 10k; Hansen on tar sands; oil and lies; DE at 20%

[Tilley, Al]

1.  “Climate of Suffering,” an Australian study, points to the mental health costs of inaction on climate.  Children, particularly, are suffering from something like pre-disaster trauma.  Change is painful, but so is stasis in the face of a threat.  http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/201108/s3304900.htm  More, with an emphasis on the effects of the climate traumas already underway:  http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/national/national/environment/mental-illness-rise-linked-to-climate/2273050.aspx

2.  Eugene Linden reflects on the spectacle of leaders (among them the governors of Florida and Texas) who presume to ignore climate change. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-linden-climate-20110828,0,879690.story

3.   A forthcoming report from the International Energy Agency anticipates that half of all energy needs in 50 years will be met by solar power and the balance by wind, hydropower, and biomass.   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-29/solar-may-produce-most-of-world-s-power-by-2060-iea-says.html

4.  The US was a net $1.8 billion exporter of solar power equipment last year.  Part of the boost came from the administration’s support of new development and production facilities.  http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/08/solar-stunner-america-is-a-1-9-billion-exporter-of-solar-products?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-August31-2011

5.  Now in its 11th year, the US Green Building Council has certified 10,000 commercial buildings in its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system.  http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/08/31/10000-commercial-green-building-projects-earn-leed-ratings?utm_source=GreenBuzz&utm_campaign=b74cd4ffc2-GreenBuzz-2011-09-01&utm_medium=email

6.  James Hansen was arrested in front of the White House in protest of the plan to build a second pipeline to carry tar sands oil from Canada.  He explains why it would be tragic to use such oil.  (If CSPAN carried his arrest, as I said it would in the last news list, I missed it.)  http://www.columbia.edu//~jeh1/mailings/2011/20110902_WhiteHouseAndTarSands.pdf<http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2011/20110902_WhiteHouseAndTarSands.pdf>  Hansen’s remarks at the White House:  http://www.columbia.edu//~jeh1/mailings/2011/20110902_WhiteHouseRemarks.pdf<http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2011/20110902_WhiteHouseRemarks.pdf>

7.  The US has 4 times as many oil rigs as it had 8 years ago.  We export more oil than we import, and have done so for 20 years.  The drive for the importation of tar sands oil from Canada derives from the hunger of oil companies for larger profits from exporting the oil, not from domestic need, however short term.  http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=104972

8.  In the first half of 2011 more than 20% of Germany’s power was produced renewably.  The renewable share is rising at 2% per year.  http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110902/wl_csm/407073
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